EA games respond to letter writing campaign complaining about the inclusion of gay and lesbian characters in recent games.

Recently, some EA titles have had the option for characters to engage in same sex relationships, this option was not forced on players they could also choose a member of the opposite sex as a partner. The latest games to offer this choice are Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic, but EA have been giving players this freedom for years with games like The Sims. However, EA have received thousands of letters complaining and even saying that they will boycott EA games if this option is featured in future games.

Luckily, EA have responded by saying that they will not be changing their policy on the matter and have denied claims made by the letter writers that they were pressured into including gay and lesbian characters by ‘extremists’. A lot of the letters came from a group in Florida called the Florida Family Association. It was this group that recently voiced an action against Star Wars: The Old Republic. EA will continue to include gay and lesbian characters and say that the campaign ‘isn’t about protecting children, it’s about political harassment’.

It wasn’t too long ago when being gay was considered a crime. Thankfully we’ve come a long way, but we still have yet to reach equality. One thing I’ve never understood is why children still need to be protected from characters that are gay. It would be extremely hard for a person to live their entire life without ever meeting a gay man or woman, so why not teach kids about it while their minds are still open enough to take it in. Not only are gay characters not included in children’s programming, they are actually removed from shows that come from other, non-English speaking, countries. Through changing dialog in dubbing and editing, or even taking out, scenes the character’s storyline is no longer present. With more and more gay characters being introduced in day time dramas it’s hard to believe that kids won’t see at least one representation of homosexuality on TV, so why is it still taboo for child oriented shows? There are some shows that are aimed at children and have characters that it implies are gay, yet it is never officially clarified.

I’m glad to hear that EA stood by their policies and weren’t intimidated by the campaign against them. Hopefully, by doing so they will send a message to the people behind the letters and maybe some of them will change their minds on the issue. Most probably won’t, but many some will.

What do you think? Would you prefer if EA didn’t feature gay and lesbian characters? Do you think that the letter writers were wrong to take the action in the first place? How do you feel about the whole issue? Let me know by voting and leaving a comment in the section below. Also, don’t forget to follow and click the like button, if you enjoyed this post.

Ever since Bayonetta was released in 2010, fans have been eager for a sequel, but now, in 2012, there is still no word of one being in production. However, a Japanese trailer has revealed that Bayonetta will be a playable character in the upcoming game Anarchy Reigns.

Anarchy Reigns is an online multiplayer fighting game that will be released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 on the 3rd of July in America and on the 6th of July in Europe. The game features many characters from Platinum Games first title MadWorld, as well as some new characters and of course Bayonetta.

Bayonetta is the story of a mysterious and slutty witch who essentially removes all her clothes to defeat tougher bad guys. Despite the, probably accurate, claims that it was sexist and demeaning to woman, the game did pretty well and received positive reviews from critics, myself included. The gameplay is amazing, it’s visually stunning and the story is interesting and just complicated enough to make it stick in your head. In essence it’s a more over the top Devil May Cry game, which isn’t surprising since they share the same creator.

There is massive demand for a sequel to Bayonetta. Whether or not one will ever materialise is still unknown, but at least fans can get another chance to play as the witch in Anarchy Reigns and the gameplay, moves and character design look identical to the ones from the game, though they may be a little tamer with the nudity. However, the character will be available only as a preorder bonus, which means that you have to preorder the game to choose her as a playable character. So keep that in mind before you buy the game.

What do you think? Are you happy she will be in the game? Do you like the character? Would you prefer a Bayonetta sequel? Check out the video and let me know what you think in the comment section below. Also, don’t forget to vote and, if you liked this post, please follow the blog and click the like button.

GAME, the UK’s largest video game retailers, have announced plans to enter administration, this comes after suspending the trading of their shares on the London Stock Exchange.

The past few months have been tough on the company, which recently were unable to stoke the game Mass Effect 3, meaning they could not fulfil the prepay orders for the game. However, the problem goes back further than that. Sales have been declining for years, not just in GAME, but other video game retailers too, GameStop went through a similar situation in the US. Why is the number of annual sales falling? It is in part due to the large number of cheaper online alternatives. People can by games from websites and at lower prices.

If you’re buying a game for yourself, there is really no problem going online and finding it as cheap as you can, but if someone that isn’t familiar with games, maybe a parent, wants to buy a game for someone else, then having a place with actually staff that can help is a necessity. There is a market, a niche market, but still a market. Also, having a shop allows for browsing the shelves and finding games you didn’t even know existed. Finds like that aren’t as easy when you have to type in keywords to find a product.

Though it has been questioned recently whether console games will even survive or if they will be destroyed by online games, I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t going to happen anytime soon, but if game shops begin to shut down the possibility becomes a lot more realistic. Despite their announcement, GAME will not be closing all its stores, at least not yet. Some will inevitably close, but hopefully, and this has happened with companies in the past, GAME will manage to survive administration and continue trading.

What do you think? Do you shop in GAME? How would you feel if they closed down stores near you? When were you last in a GAME store? Let me know by voting and leaving a comment below. Also, if you like this post, please follow and click the like button.

The world can be a stressful place sometimes and when you finally get a break from that what could be better than going on a killing spree, I am of course talking about games not real life murder which, for the record, I don’t condone. Anyway, recently I found myself under a lot of stress and couldn’t get my fix of video game violence because of a new hard drive.

Unwilling to replay any of my old games I decided that, when the stress eased up a bit, I’d buy a new game. Nothing fancy just something old and cheap. One game stuck out in my memory and I decided to hunt it down. It’s called F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) and it was first recommended to me last year by a guy that worked in a GameStop that has now shut down. After a bit of searching I found the game pre-owned, ironically in a GameStop, and bought it.

F.E.A.R. is a psychological horror first person shooter that was released on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 between 2005 and 2007. The game follows the F.E.A.R. team as they investigate a supernatural phenomenon and naturally you play as the point man, which is a soldier that is sent in first all the time as sort of a lookout. This means that you’re fighting thousands of soldiers all by yourself and to make matters worse, and a lot more fun, the supernatural phenomenon occasionally pops up to scare the hell out of you.

As a massive horror fan I think that GameStop guy was right, this game is great. It’s been a long time since I’ve ever been really scared, but this might change that. To add to the atmosphere I’ve been playing the game alone in the dark, I know my commitment is incredible and a little excessive. Naturally, after one day it’s hard to say whether F.E.A.R. is truly worth the GameStop recommendation, but for now I’m really enjoying it and props to pre-owned games. I was considering not getting it because of a bad experience I had years ago, but this seems to run without any trouble and has barely any scratches. So there you go adopt a game, you won’t regret it.

What do you think? Have you played F.E.A.R.? Do you buy pre-owned games? Are you a fan of the horror genre? Let me know by voting and leaving a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow and click the like button if you liked this post.

No matter how you feel about the, Toby Maguire, Spider-man movies, you can’t deny that the games were pretty good. This could be because they didn’t follow the movie plot exactly, who knows, but one of the best things about them was the villains that didn’t feature in the movie. Every one of the games had, not only the bad guys from the film, but also extra ones from the comics. Now that the movie franchise is getting rebooted, the games are getting the same treatment and it looks like they are keeping up the tradition of including secondary villains. A new trailer, for the game, hit the web, pun, today and it revealed that the Rhino will be in the game.

Rhino has been described as Spider-man ‘dimmest’ enemy and that’s how he appeared when he was in the game Spider-man 2. However, this time he seems to be a lot tougher and have a bigger role to play and, while he wasn’t exactly holding up his scores on an IQ test, a voiceover in the video, as well as some of the scenes, would suggest that brains don’t matter as he simply uses his animal instinct. The ‘beast’ is in control.

It isn’t only the villains that look tougher in this game; Spider-man is shown kicking some serious behind. Throwing people, grabbing there head between his feet, flipping them, Jackie Chan eat your heart out. There are so many different ways that you can beat up criminal, it looks really great and I’m glad that they kept it open city. I never really doubted that they would. It was such an important part of the previous instalments, though they are not related, it would have been foolish to leave it out when it works so well.

The other Spider-man games featured more than one new villain, so it stands to reason that this one will as well. No word has been announced yet, but if I could pick I’d like to see either Black Cat, because I thought her part in the second Spider-man game was really good, or Morbius, just sort of an old favourite. There’s no guarantee that another extra villain will appear in the game, but it is very plausible.

What do you think? Are you glad Rhino will be in the new game? Do you think there will be another extra villain? Who would you like to see appear in the game? Let me know by voting and leaving a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow and click the like button, if you like this post.

A new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man has hit the web and it looks like we’re finally going to get a decent live action Spider-Man movie.

Straight off the bat, I award this movie extra points for not having Toby Maguire in it. Nothing against Toby, but maybe he should change career. There’s got to be a job where he can be as plain and boring as he naturally is and they won’t need to reboot it after three bad attempts. Go ahead Toby prove me wrong, make a good film. You can’t, can you?

Even more points should be given, because the film doesn’t just pretend Peter’s parents never existed. One key difference this time around is that they go into, to an extent, the lives of Peter’s parents. The comic books have revisited, and changed, Spider-Man’s history, making his parents S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as a result. Initially, I thought this was going to be part of the movie, but now I’m not so sure. I think they’re just really focusing on his dad’s work at OSCORP. The villain of the film is the Lizard, aka Dr. Connors, who, in the trailer, tells Peter about the work he did with Peter’s dad.

A major difference between this film and the previous trilogy is that Mary Jane is not present. In her place is Peter’s first love, Gwen Stacey. Gwen appeared in the third and final bad Spider-Man movie, it was terrible. Every time there is a bridge on the trailer I got a little nervous, but as the Green Goblin isn’t in the film, I’m not as that worried about Gwen’s safety. I’m referring to the events of the comic books that unfortunately led to Spider-Man accidentally breaking Gwen’s spine and killing her, it happens. Remember though, these movies don’t directly follow the comics, so Gwen Stacy may well survive the whole franchise, assuming there are sequels.

Is it strange that I couldn’t help but wonder whether there would be a game version? One of the very few good things about the other Spider-Man movies was the games. So I looked it up and found that, not only was a game being made, a trailer had already been released and it looks great. Check out both trailers below.

What do you think? Did you like the previous Spider-Man films? Are you looking forward to this one? Has Toby Maguire ever been good in any movie? Let me know by voting and leaving a comment. Also don’t forget to follow me here or on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/AdamODwyer1) and, if you like this post, click the like button.

Yesterday we looked at the trailer for the new Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 6, but since then some new theories have come to light.

Ashley or Sherry

The identity of the blonde girl from the trailer is being debated, with various sites taking different stances on the topic. Is she Ashley Graham or Sherry Birkin? Personally, I think its Ashley as the president, who is her father, plays a key role in the game. Some have argued that it may not be President Graham, though this is unlikely as he references working with Leon, and trusting Leon, for a long time and President Graham trusted Leon enough to send him single handed to rescue his daughter.

IGN have confirmed from sources that it is Sherry, but that means nothing. The same was said about Sherry in Resident Evil 5 and she ended up not being in it. She hasn’t appeared in a long time and fans really want to know what happened to her, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean she’ll ever reappear. Still, don’t rule it out it could be her, but my money’s on Ashley and I’d actually prefer if it was Ashley. I think she was a really annoying part of Resident Evil 4, but story wise she makes sense and it seems right to include her.

Then there’s the possibility that she’s someone completely new. No one seems to be arguing this, but she may not be a returning character at all. There is no point in the trailer were she says or does anything to indicate that she has been in a biohazard before, though her voice sounds a lot like Ashley’s. IMDB does not have a page for Resident Evil 6 yet to confirm whether or not it is actually the same voice actress.

HUNK or Alex Wesker

The mysterious new guy, who is ironically paired with Ashley/Sherry, definitely has a relation to someone in the past games, Capcom have said this, but who could it be? The two main contenders are HUNK and Alex Wesker. HUNK has appeared in the games before, but was always in a costume with a gas mask. Alex Wesker was mentioned in past games, though he’s never physically appeared.

HUNK is a mercenary and the new guy in the trailer says he was ‘better off as a mercenary’. Also he is pretty good at surviving dangerous situations, much like HUNK who usually is the only survivor on his team when he goes on missions. The new guy’s blood seems to have some immunity to the virus or some important quality and it’s been long theorised by fans that HUNK was immune to the virus and this is why he survives when the rest of his team dies. However, fan speculation isn’t fact so HUNK may have completely regular blood.

Alex Wesker was, along with the more well-known Albert Wesker, one of the Wesker children. That doesn’t make them DNA related they were just a group of children that were experimented on. Alex is, as of Resident Evil 5, the only surviving Wesker child. Alex has been mentioned in a number of times throughout the series, though never in a way that specifies the gender. All the Wesker children were experimented on so it’s likely his blood would have a few tricks up its sleeve, yeah that’s right blood can have sleeves.

As with the Ashley/Sherry debate, it could be someone completely new. If I had to pick I’d say that I think its Alex. I wouldn’t mind either way, because I think both would be really cool, but I feel it’s more likely that it’s Alex.

Is Resident Evil 6 a prequel?

Unfortunately, basic maths says it is. Resident Evil 5 takes place 11 years after the Raccoon City incident and Resident Evil takes place 10 years after, which, if my maths are correct, means number 6 is set one year before 5. Hopefully this is a mistake that will be fixed before the game comes out, because what’s the point of putting it before 5? The only reason I can think of is to include Albert Wesker, but that’s not a good enough reason.

So in conclusion, Ashley, Alex and prequel those are my theories what are yours. Let me know by voting and leaving a comment below. Also don’t forget to follow/subscribe and click the like button, if you liked this post. You can follow me on twitter if you want it’s.

After a mysterious viral campaign, Capcom have revealed that Resident Evil 6 is happening.

Recently, a site called nohopeleft.com went up showing pictures of the words ‘no hope left’ spray painted in various locations, with the ‘o’ from ‘no’ being replaced with the sign for biohazard. Also a video of a woman crying and ranting desperately was put on the site. Resident Evil fans soon connected this with the franchise, most notably from the biohazard sign; the Japanese name for the Resident Evil games is Biohazard. Under the graffiti ‘no hope left’ in the pictures was a time and date and on that time and date the first trailer for Resident Evil 6 was released. Unfortunately, shortly before this a poster was leaked by a worker in a game shop, thus revealing the existence of the game. Still Capcom refused to comment until after the trailer was released.

The trailer is amazing and shows the two returning protagonists, Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield, fighting to stop two different virus outbreaks. Leon is in America with the president, who is turned into a zombie after he had planned to come clean and reveal to the world what Umbrella had done in Raccoon City, and Chris is in China fighting a bioterrorist attack there. Both characters will be playable and have their own separate campaign, with a partner for co-op play. A third campaign follows a new character and Ashley Graham, yeah that’s right she’s back. This time Ashley seems less annoying, but only time will tell. The new character seems to have some sort of special blood that will help the world, probably containing a natural antidote to the virus or something. It seems as though Ashley has hired him, maybe to save her father, the president. That is if Leon hasn’t shot him. All three campaigns will be completed separately, but most likely will overlap at some stages (which will be cool).

IGN have claimed that there will be a fourth campaign, one that will become playable only after the other three have been completed. They say that this one follows Ada Wong. If it’s true then this is going to be one hell of a long game or at least I hope it will be. Though it was a good game, Resident Evil 5 was pretty short and not very scary, like not scary at all. Part of this could be due to the comfort of having a second player, but I think it’s lazy to say that it’s impossible to make a game that can scare two people at once. Horror movies do it to whole cinemas full of people, so way couldn’t a game? The bright setting also contributed to the lack of scare factor and let’s face it it was pretty action orientated. This time around we get the action parts with Chris and the scary parts with Leon, plus whatever Ashley and the new guy bring to the table (probably whiney noises and a few vials of blood).

This is the first Resident Evil game that’s ever featured both Chris and Leon as playable characters and that’s a big deal. It looks like it’s going to be the most impressive game in the series. I could be wrong, but from what I’ve seen I genuinely think this game is going to be epic. Whether you like to play solo or with friends it seems like 2012 is going to be the year of Resident Evil, hey there’s even the movie to look forward to, and I for one can’t wait.

What do you think? Are you excited about this game? Did you like the trailer? Who’s your favourite Resident Evil character? Let me know by voting and leaving a comment below, also don’t forget to follow/subscribe and click the like button, if you liked this post. If you want to follow me on Twitter my account is https://twitter.com/#!/AdamODwyer1.